Notification of Serious Events
This procedure summarises who must be notified of serious events in relation to a Looked After child or young person.
The manager and the placing authority must always be notified of any serious event. Notifications of a young person’s death should always be made 'without delay' and if there is media interest in the situation.
| Serious Event | Who to notify |
|---|---|
|
Death of a Child. |
The placing authority; The Secretary of State (if the Secretary of State is not the placing authority); The local authority in whose area the placement is located (if that local authority is not the placing authority); The Integrated Care Board (ICB) for the area in which the property is located; Any other relevant person [1]. |
|
Referral of a person working in the Service pursuant to section 35 (Regulated activity providers: duty to refer) of the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006. |
Any other relevant person. |
|
Allegation of abuse against the Service or a person working there. |
The placing authority; The local authority designated officer (LADO) for the area where the property is located; Any other relevant person. |
|
A young person is involved in or subject to or suspected of being involved in child sexual exploitation. |
The placing authority; The police; Any other relevant person. |
|
A Child Protection Enquiry involving a young person is instigated or concludes. |
The placing authority; The local authority in whose area the property is located (if different to the placing authority) which will have responsibility for ensuring appropriate enquiries are made under Section 47 of the Children Act 1989; Any other relevant person. |
[1] “relevant person” means any person, body or organisation that the registered person considers to be relevant in relation to the care, protection or safeguarding of a particular child in all the circumstances.
Additional Notifications
Notifications should be made to the placing authority and other relevant persons in the following circumstances:
- A serious incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a young person which the manager considers to be serious (police involvement means the police are actively doing something concerning the incident, for example making an arrest or taking witness statements); and
- There is any other incident relating to a young person which the manager considers to be serious.
The Oxford English Dictionary defines 'serious' as: 'significant or worrying because of possible danger or risk; not slight or negligible'. The line between what is serious, and what is not, can be blurred and is always a matter of judgement.
Incidents which are likely to be considered serious (and thus warrant notification to the placing authority) include:
- A child being the victim or perpetrator of a serious assault;
- A serious illness or accident;
- A serious incident of self-harm;
- Serious concerns over a young person’s missing behaviour, such as where you consider the young person to be at grave risk due to age or vulnerability, where they have been missing for a considerable period of time and their whereabouts are unknown or there is a pattern of repeated absence;
- A serious illness or accident would include matters such as fractured bones, when a young person loses consciousness or situations that require admittance to hospital for more than 24 hours. If the injury has been sustained as part of a wider incident, for example a restraint or during a young person running away, the placing authority should be informed.
The Service should keep records of self-harm incidents and should have in place a system for notifying responsible authorities of any serious concerns about the emotional or mental health of a young person to the extent that a mental health assessment would be requested under the Mental Health Act 1983.
This is not an exhaustive list, and each case must be assessed individually taking into account any patterns of behaviour or unusual behaviour that may indicate an increased risk to the young person.
Sharing Information with the Placing Authority
The Service must share any concerns about the young person or their behaviour with the placing authority, in order to safeguard the young person and promote their welfare.
The notification must include details of:
- The incident;
- Who else has been notified; and
- Outcomes and future actions.
Quality of Notifications
Notifications should not just be a chronology of events. The notification should include a brief summary of the event, the actions taken by staff and managers at the time, and further actions planned to reduce the likelihood of a similar incident occurring again.
Managers and the Service are responsible for the quality of the reports completed by their staff.
Learning from Notifications
It is important that managers and the Service consider the wider implications of incidents which have led to notifications. The notification should not be seen as the end of the process, rather the circumstances of the incident should be reviewed and any implications for safeguarding or outcomes for young people identified. Wherever possible, actions should be planned to reduce the likelihood of similar incidents occurring again.
Also see the First Aid and Accidents.
Where a young person, visitor or member of staff is involved in a serious accident in the Service, the HSE should be informed. The outbreak of any infectious disease (which in the opinion of a registered medical practitioner is sufficiently serious to be so notified) should also be reported.
See HSE website for forms to report incidents to the HSE.
For more information, see HSE – Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences.
Last Updated: February 20, 2023
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